My Cherry Blossom
by Someone With A Pencil
Summary: A sort of one chapter AU where Sasuke discovers the truth about the cherry blossom tree in his backyard. SasuSaku.


I have a cherry blossom tree at home. It was only a sprout when I was a baby. I used to play around it with my older brother when I was a small child, never really noticing it, but being drawn to it anyway. As I got older, I would do my homework by it, and even try watering it. I began to notice it more and more, though I pretended not to. I didn't want to be one of those sissies that were obsessed with beauty or whatever. Even so, I would watch it for hours through my window at night.

The more I grew, it grew as well. In height, and, in beauty. It continued to draw my gaze for a long time…. Until my mother grew ill. I was distraught, and forgot all about the tree. My father caught the same sickness soon after and died alongside my mother. I forgot all about that cherry blossom tree. I became more and more angry at my older brother. I became angry at everyone. Eventually, my older brother went away. I was twelve years old and angrier than I'd ever been before. People tried to enter my life, but I pushed them away. There was this one especially annoying boy that always yelled at me as I passed by, telling me to hang out with him. I would just walk away, and he would continue yelling. My teacher would often drop by, as well, to subtly ask if I was OK. I pushed him away, too.

As the years past, the boy and I formed a sort of bond. He would yell at me, I'd glare, then we'd sit by the cherry tree and silently do our homework together. Our teacher would drop by sometimes and eat his dinner alongside us. I never liked it very much, however, when either of them sat too close to the cherry tree. If they so much as touched it, I'd glare at them, though I didn't know why. It became a habit, though I never watched the tree like I used to.

After high school, I remembered my brother and took off, leaving the boy, my teacher, and my beloved cherry tree. I tried to tell myself that it was distracting. Annoying, even. But I missed it dearly.

I found out that my brother had joined a gang. I got angry again. I screamed at him, telling him what a stupid idiot he was. He just looked at me blankly. So, I shot him. The next day, I discovered that he had been using the money he got from the gang in order to help pay the bills at home. I wept. The next thing I knew, the boy and my old high school teacher were in my hotel room, hugging me. They told me how stupid I had been, and that I should never have gone. Police had surrounded the hotel after finding my brother's body and had let the boy come talk to me at my own risk. The boy went on and on about some girl that I had left behind. I was confused. What girl?

"Idiot!" The boy said. "The girl who's right in front of you!" A lone cherry blossom petal lay on the floor in front of me, in between my teacher and the boy. I looked at it. Then, right before my eyes, it transformed into a crying girl, standing, shaking in front of me.

"Sasuke-kun…" She wept. Her pink hair was a mess, like she hadn't slept for days. Her eyes were blood shot. I stared at her. Who was she? She seemed to familiar…

But, before I could say anything, police rushed into the room, grabbing me. She screamed at them, telling them to let me go, but it was futile. I spent the next three years in prison. My sentence was fairly short, thanks to the money my brother had made for me. To keep me alive. So I could _live._ I came home to find that the boy and the girl had grown up. They met me at the airport and took me home. I looked at my front yard to find that the cherry blossom tree was gone. I panicked.

"What happened?" I asked. The two looked confused.

"What do you mean?" The girl asked. I told her about the cherry blossom tree.

"Tree? Sasuke, there was no tree. Your front yard has always been empty."

I ended up marrying that girl. The boy had married, too. I ended up with a niece, a nephew and a wonderful daughter. I named her after my brother, my wife and I. Itachi, Sasuke and….

Sakura, the cherry blossom tree.


End file.
